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Ever since their Week 14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Arizona Cardinals have failed to replicate their early-season winning ways – and their 22-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Christmas exposed more of the same issues they have been plagued with this year.
While a six-point loss usually lends itself to being a close game, it was the Colts who were in control for most of the game, not allowing Kyler Murray to have his usual offensive success that helped stake him to potential MVP votes earlier this year. For Murray, accounting for 326 total yards (245 passing) is another day at the office, but how he earned them was anything but.
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Cardinals Week 16 Takeaways
3. Murray desperately misses Hopkins
When healthy, the combo of Murray and WR DeAndre Hopkins was nearly unstoppable, as these two players hunted favorable matchups and turned them into big days for both. But with Hopkins out for the rest of the regular season, it now falls on Murray to find the rest of his supporting cast.
The likes of A.J. Green, Rondale Moore, Christian Kirk, and Zach Ertz have all helped in various ways, but Murray is more erratic in the pocket, not having that one go-to target that he can just throw a ball up to.
On countless dropbacks, Murray was forced to improvise, with the result of the play not being the intended outcome – many incompletions stalled the Cardinals on offense, leading to a relatively-inefficient day for Murray through the air.
2. Backfield has two bonafide options
When both James Conner and Chase Edmonds were earning touches out of the backfield, the rushing attack for the Cardinals would hum right along, with Murray getting in on the fun too. But with Conner having missed Saturday’s game with an ankle injury, it was Edmonds who got back into the lone RB1 role, and he thrived.
16 carries for 56 yards and a rushing TD, combined with 8 receptions for 71 yards (on 9 targets) was a hyper-efficient day for Edmonds, who is the option more integrated into the passing game. Edmonds helped offset the strong Colts secondary, constantly turning two-yard routes into eight-yard gains.
If Conner is able to return for Week 17, this backfield will return to its 1-2 punch, but knowing that Edmonds can hold down the fort by himself is a welcomed sign for this Cardinals team that needs anything and everything to go its way on offense.
1. Kingsbury’s late-season collapse is well in motion
Dating back to his days coaching in the collegiate ranks for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Kliff Kingsbury has had issues finishing seasons strong.
From 2013 – 2018 at Texas Tech, Kingsbury lost at least four games over the final five-plus after starting the year with a winning record, putting the team’s bowl eligibility in danger of being missed. When he made the jump to the NFL, it was more of the same for his team.
In 2019, a 3-3-1 start yielded a 5-10-1 finish.
In 2020, a 6-3 start resulted in an 8-8 finish.
In 2021, a 7-0 start has so far turned into a 10-5 record, having gone 3-5 over their last 8 games.
If the Cardinals want to not back themselves into the playoffs, then Kingsbury needs to figure out how he can right the ship before its too late.
